1. The father never cared for the bastard MC. The only feeling he associated with MC was guilt of making a mess he couldn't fix thanks to having his brain on his dick that one time.
2. The one "oh-so-caring" was Belos, the half-sibling who got himself and more than half of the army killed due to his unrivaled stupidity. Even that cowardly, back-stabbing traitor was smarter. Later on, it was the half-sister, the queen which scolded her mother every time she hurled abuse at MC.
3. While I can agree to a degree on the way the PTSD was written, I'll have to say this: If you think having suffered from depression is anything like suffering from PTSD ( a complex and "uncured" PTSD as MCs) you are sorely mistaken. Nobody can even fathom the torture it is to live with it, especially one which was rooted to childhood trauma, caused by the very family who was supposed to raise and make you feel safe. Add to that the traumas he experienced as a soldier, and you'll have someone worse than MC, but alas, that's how much one can manage to understand of PTSD by reading psychological articles (depression, anxiety, paranoia, self-harming to give them a sense of control, zero self-confidence and guilt for even breathing among others... we just touched the surface). I assure you, the MC we got in ITFO is way tamer than he'd be if existing in reality.
This is like a year late but THANK-f*cking-YOU for this! I wanna laugh cry everytime someone complains about how doom-and-gloom the ItFO MC is like they wouldn't come out worse if they're in MC's shoes! The MC even manage to sort of pick himself up at the end of book one, finally moving on from self-harm, and that is such a hopeful thing imo. Sorry for being so emotional but this story actually got me through some hard times so I'm gonna defend this and Jon Louis to my miserable end.
Now... if ItFO, FH, and other good IFs I'm not gunna name (cause I'm a gatekeeping girlboss) are IFs that got me through hard times, these are the list of IFs that gave me a HARD TIME. Starting with: Blood Money, Creme de la Creme, Professor of Magical Studies
All of Zachari Sergy's abysmal creations, Creatures Such as We, Zombie Exodus the first book
The Passenger (love the first half absolutely hate the romance and the second half)
Teahouse of the Gods (I'd rather have a literal fever dream), New Witch in Town
Crown of Ashes and Flames, The King's Hound, Fields of Asphodel, Infamous
Press Play (this one is complicated, I like the IF but not a fan of the author)
Deux a Deux (only like what two chapters in, already opened a patreon and have not been updated since like a year don't even know if the author is still active)
Wayhaven Chronicles, The Northern Passage, The Lost Heir of Daria, A Tale of Heroes (I actually want to romance seeker but noooo)
Fernweh Saga (a long-winded nothing burger), REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE (the author is clearly biased towards Orla, and I hate how we're forced to like her, she's supposed to be some awesome girlboss boss but all I can see is an insecure *****, seriously have so much to say about her but all Imma say is the author don't seem to grasp the concept of show don't tell) Waywalker University, The Keeper series (f*ck you Sera, f*ck you Asstrid, f*ck you Kol, f*ck you all)
There's more but this is already too long lol. Imma save my energy for things I like. Peace out ✌